TARZANA, Calif. — Eco-Safe Systems USA Inc. has announced the results from a commissioned challenge study of disinfection effectiveness of ozone vs. chlorine. Several months were spent designing testing protocols for a study which would measure the relative killing power of ozone vs. chlorine against Salmonella spp, Staphylococcus aureus and E. coli O157:H7. Eco-Safe commissioned the study upon the request of a large fast-food restaurant chain. The study was designed through the joint efforts of the restaurant chain and Dr. Al Baroudi, president of Food Safety Institute, International (FSI). It was executed by a reputable third-party commercial institution licensed to handle and study pathogenic bacteria in the U.S. The data generated in this study proved the Eco-Safe ozone wash procedure to be 10 times more effective than a 20 parts per million (ppm) chlorine wash on produce tested with a high bacterial load. Chlorine at 20 ppm is the historical disinfectant of choice when a kill intervention process is applied for produce items destined for public consumption in the fast food and retail foodservice industry.
However, during the investigation phase of project planning, it was discovered that in many cases, end-point distributors of these products do not utilize a chemical wash procedure of any type, including chlorine. For this reason, Eco-Safe Ozone Disinfection Systems are designed to automatically provide disinfection to the water whenever the tap is turned on, requiring no special employee intervention or training. "Although there are many published scientific studies which document the superiority of ozone vs. chlorine disinfection, one of our prospective clients requested a specific study pitting ozone and chlorine against certain deadly bacteria found in our food supply," Michael Elliot, Eco-Safe president, said. As anticipated, this study found significant benefits from using ozone rather than chlorine disinfection, not the least of which is ozone's green, organic protection, creating none of the carcinogenic by-products associated with chlorine."
Dr. Baroudi said, "E. coli 0157:H7 devastated the spinach industry two years ago, and Salmonella saintpaul has already crippled the tomato industry this season. Ozone water disinfection can deliver many benefits which will increase food quality and safety at a lower cost to producers and processors."
